


Wandering Soul

by FictionBrocon



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Friendship, Gen, Gender Disguise, Not Beta Read, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-26 04:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30100338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionBrocon/pseuds/FictionBrocon
Summary: "Soul" is a part of humans. Commonly, a soul will be disembodied from a human's body once they are deceased. This story is about the soul of someone who is not alive, yet is not dead either. Being disembodied from its body, this soul wanders to another world where that person doesn't belong.Now, let the story begin.
Relationships: Ace Trappola & Yuu | Player, Azul Ashengrotto & Yuu | Player, Cater Diamond & Yuu | Player, Deuce Spade & Yuu | Player, Floyd Leech & Yuu | Player, Jack Howl & Yuu | Player, Jade Leech & Yuu | Player, Leona Kingscholar & Yuu | Player, Riddle Rosehearts & Yuu | Player, Ruggie Bucchi & Yuu | Player, Trey Clover & Yuu | Player
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	1. Severity

**Author's Note:**

> \- The Prefect (Yuu) is a female. She is not self-projecting and more like a semi-original character.  
> \- I write this fanfiction for myself, but if someone else happens to read and like it, I'd really appreciate it.  
> \- I write really slow, so I can't guarantee when will I update this fanfiction.  
> \- The title of each sub-chapter is the title of characters in the game if you got 5 cards of the said character. They may sound weird so I accept correction for my own translation.

**Conservative Honor Student**

It was around lunchtime when I saw that figure in the hallway. A small figure of someone that is obviously out of place here. He wore our school uniform which was probably bigger by two sizes from his body that he has to roll up the sleeve and pants. Is he waiting for his growth spurt? Unlike other students who have their dorm crest on their left arm, his left arm was tied by a ribbon with black and white stripes. His shoulder-length hair was tied up into a half-up bun.

It was rare to see him alone, so I decided to approach him. I patted his shoulder, “Yuu?”

The said person turned around to face me. He bowed a little before speaking to me, “Hello, Roseheart-senpai.”

Regardless of how messy his appearance was, his attitude and manner were on the high level for a high schoolboy. That was what made me take an interest in him. Moreover, he really got along with two trouble makers from my dorm—Ace and Deuce—and often helped them to clean up the mess they created.

“It’s rare to see you alone. Where are the others?” what I meant by ‘the others’ are the troublemakers from my dorm and one monster who also belonged to his dorm.

“They are in charge of the next class. I’m not included so I take today’s lunchtime easy,” he answered with a giggle.

“I see that you’re kinda relieved you can be alone for a while. It must be tiring to handle those three, right?” I smiled a little.

“Um… you are not wrong,” he answered with an awkward smile. What an honest person he was.

There was plenty of time left before the next class began so we talked a little. Most of our talk was me giving him advice for first-year classes, especially about magic, since he can’t use magic and came from another world. Somehow I find it was really comfortable to talk with him. Our conversation went well until some people who passed by talked about him. I didn’t know if they intended to talk it aloud or not, their voices were enough to reach our ears.

“Hey, isn’t that the Ramshackle dorm’s prefect, the person who came from another world?”  
“The one who made ruckus at the welcoming ceremony? Yes, that’s him.”  
“He really looks out of place, huh…”  
“Hey, is it just me or he looks like a girl? Even those Pomefiore dudes with thick makeup lost to him.”  
“You’re right. His face is so girlish and his body is so small. Perhaps he’s really a girl?”  
“A girl in all-boys school? Is that even legal?”

They started to laughing at Yuu as well. What are they talking about? Indeed he looked so feminine but that didn’t make him less as a man. It wasn’t like women are inferior to men. But the way talked sounded like they were making fun of Yuu for looking like a girl.

“You there! Do you think talking about someone you barely know is a good thing to do?!” I raised my voice to talk to them so they would know we heard what they said.

“Ugh, it’s Roseheart. So annoying.”  
“I don’t want to get into trouble with him. Let’s go.”

Just like that, they left.

“Senpai, is that alright? They said you’re annoying,” I can feel a worried tone from his voice.

“I’m fine. It is the consequence as a dorm leader of Heartslabyul who should maintain the rules,” I faced him again, “but you didn’t do anything wrong, and yet those people keep bad mouthing you. You should defend yourself more. Aren’t you angry when people said you’re like a girl?”

He scratched his cheek, “Um, I don’t think that’s necessary. I mean—”

The school bell rang before he could finish his talk.

“We should go back to our class. See you later, senpai,” he said as he left me. Then he turned back a bit, “Thank you for defending me, Roseheart-senpai. You’re really kind.”

The corner of my mouth raised a bit, “No problem.”

He left me alone. As I was walking to my class, I thought about him. Did he really don’t mind what people said about himself? Usually, he could be pretty blunt, but he just kept silent now. Is he holding back? And…

_Um, I don’t think that’s necessary. I mean—_

Is it just me or the way he talked changed for a moment, from casual masculine to feminine?

It must be my imagination.

* * *

**Master of Mischief**

I’m bored.

Today, Deuce, Yuu, Grim, and I were gathering at Ramshackle dorm to finish our assignments. All of them were due next week but we all are finishing them today. Usually, I would do them at the last minute before due. The reason why I was here is because of Yuu and Deuce. Earlier in lunchtime, Yuu said he wanted to do his assignment and then Deuce asked to join him. Since there was dorm leader Riddle near us, I don’t have any choice but to join them as well.

Hours passed by and I was already tired with this. It was obvious that Deuce was giving up but still trying to hang in there. Grim already seemed so sleepy. The only one who still stayed in the position from the start was Yuu, he was still diligently doing his assignment.

“I gave up,” I said loudly.

A sigh escaped from Deuce's mouth and he followed me, “Me too.”

“I’m hungry,” Grim added more reason to not continue doing our assignment.

“If you want to take a break, go ahead,” said Yuu without looking away from his books, “You can take the cookies in our kitchen, Grim.”

“Yay! One of you, let’s take the cookies,” Grim enthusiastically jumped around.

“Let me help you,” Deuce offered help to Grim.

Then they left me alone with Yuu. I looked at Yuu who was still focusing on his assignment. Some people said he looked like a girl and it was not rare for him to get mistaken as a girl. I guess I could agree with them. He has a small body, long eyelashes, a feminine face, and smooth hair. No one can blame them for thinking like that.

Though, his case wasn’t rare here. I saw some other boys who looked like girls, especially from Pomefiore dorm. But all of them were real boys, including Yuu.

I poked his cheek. Even his cheek is soft too.

“Ace, I get it you’re bored. But don’t disturb someone who is trying to focus on their assignment,” said Yuu, serious as always.

“Geez, you don’t have to be so serious. The deadline is next week, you know,” I said as I pulled his cheek. He brushed aside my hand from his cheek.

“I wonder who decided to procrastinate the last assignment since the deadline was pretty long but ended up doing everything the night before and barely got any sleep?” he squinted his eyes while asked.

I couldn’t talk back since all he said was true. It happened to me, Deuce, and Grim not so long ago. Pissed off, I made another move on him.

This time I tried to tickle him around his waist, “You’re so cheeky, Yuu. Take this!”

“Wait, Ace! Ahahahaha—”

It seemed like I hit on his weak spot. I continued to tickle him until I noticed something and stopped. Since Yuu always wore clothes bigger than his size, I never really knew about his body figure.

His waist is so thin. Not only thin but it was so soft like there was barely any muscle there. Also, what was this? The shape of his waist was kinda weird, not like any normal boys.

I swallowed my saliva.

"What are you two doing?"

Deuce's voice brought me back to reality. We were in a really awkward position when Deuce and Grim were back. I was on the top of Yuu while holding his waist.

"No-nothing!" I said as I let go of Yuu. Why did I sound so panicked?

Yuu decided to join us on our break since he couldn't focus anymore after what I did. Deuce and Grim seemed to enjoy the cookies so much. Apparently, the cookies were made by Yuu. I did admit the cookies tasted good even though not as elevated as Trey-senpai's sweets.

I took one cookie and didn't bring it to myself.

"Yuu," I called him.

"What is it?" Yuu turned his face to me. While his mouth was open, I put that cookie on his mouth.

"Eat more. Your waist is so thin that I thought you might be blown away by wind someday," I said with a smirk.

Yuu munched and swallowed the cookie with a pout on his face and didn't say anything.

After we ate, we talked about various things. Mostly we talk about how tiring our schedule was. Whenever I didn't talk, I took glances at Yuu, especially on his lip.

When I fed him earlier, my finger accidentally touched his lips. It was… so soft.

Maybe he was secretly taking care of his body like Pomefiore students did? But if he did that care about his body appearance, then why was he still wearing that baggy uniform?

Weird. Everything about him was weird.

* * *

**Cauldron Summoner**

After what happened today—or yesterday, since it was already past midnight—all of us first-years and Ortho were sleeping over at Ramshackle dorm. We decided to do so to tease Ace regarding the speech he delivered to the ghosts. We were laughing endlessly while watching the record of Ace doing that.

Ace felt it was unfair for him to be the only one laughing stock. So he asked Ortho to play all of our recordings. Jack and Sebek didn't seem to mind watching their own recording. Jack, as a wolf-man, normally will only have one partner for his entire life, which is why he still didn't know how to handle girls properly. Meanwhile, Sebek only focused on serving Draconia-senpai. So rather than being embarrassed, they were proud since their action shows what they really were. The only one who didn’t get recorded was Epel since he was busy fighting the ghosts to clear Ace’s path towards the cafeteria.

When it was my recording to be played, it was really embarrassing. I was really awkward that time and barely can speak.

"Deuce, you're really bad with girls, huh," Ace showed a cheeky smile, feeling he won over something.

"Th-that can't be helped! No one really approached me before I attended NRC. So I don't know how to speak with girls!" I said. It was hard to admit my loss to Ace.

"It was only with a woman ghost. What if you meet a real girl someday?" Ace asked with a chuckle.

"I-I don't know," just thinking I have to talk with a girl already made me flustered, "For now, there's no girl around me so I'm safe."

"But, Deuce-kun, you can't run away from girls forever," said Epel.

"I know… It's not like I will see one of them very soon. We are in an all-boys school, and there was no guarantee I would work with them in the future," I replied Epel.

"You're clearly running away from them," said Sebek.

"W-well, just like Ace said, girls can be so confusing. So I'd rather not meet them!”

Suddenly, there was a sound of glass breaking on the floor. All of us immediately looked for the source of that sound, then we saw Yuu who just came out from the kitchen brought a tray of mugs. It seemed like he wanted to give us drinks.

"Yuu, are you alright?" I stood up as soon as possible but Jack held me back.

"I will help him. You guys can stay here," he said.

Jack went to Yuu and helped pick up the shattered mug. We didn't know why after Jack said he would help Yuu alone, all of us stayed in our seats even though usually we would always help. It felt like Jack wanted to keep Yuu away from us for a while. After cleaning up the mess, Jack and Yuu went to the kitchen to throw away the shattered mug.

"Is Yuu-san okay?" still looking at them, Epel asked, "His face is so pale."

Epel was right. We made the lounge room dim so we can watch the recordings clearly, and we can see Yuu's face has gone pale even in this dim room.

"Isn't his face pale for a while this afternoon?" Ace tried to remember what happened today.

"Really? I didn't notice at all," I said. I remember Yuu was laughing loudly with the others before I went to the Cafetaria to save the others.

"I think his face has gone pale after Deuce-kun, Azul-san, Cater-san, and Lilia-san went to help the others on Cafetaria," Epel said. So that's why I didn't notice that he seemed not good today.

"Maybe he wasn't feeling well today," Sebek, who was sent from the beginning, totally had no idea.

We stopped watching the recordings and decided to wait for Jack and Yuu. While the rest of us were chatting, I took a glance at them in the kitchen. Yuu's face was still pale and Jack looked like trying to calm him. Both of them spoke in very low voices. Even with that pale face, Yuu tried to show a smile so Jack wouldn’t be too worried. Somehow when I saw them acting like that, it felt like they shared a secret and tried to hide it from everyone.

I wonder if that was what made Yuu suddenly drop the mug like that and Jack immediately comforted him?

...I didn’t like that. Why did Yuu share a secret with Jack instead of Ace or me, his classmates and closest friends? We met him way before Jack.

I turned back to the others after letting out a sigh. I will find out about what was troubling him later.

* * *

**Caretaker of the Conservative**

"Thanks a lot, Yuu. Even though you came here as a guest," I said to Yuu who helped me to bring back dirty dishes to our dorm’s kitchen.

"No problem, Clover-senpai," Yuu replied to me with a smile, then he averted his eyes a bit, "Grim was always troubling Heartslabyul dorm after all. This is the best I can do to repay Heartslabyul dorm’s students."

I laughed a bit after listening to what he said. What he said was true, but we also had two students who always bothered him, which are his own classmates, Ace and Deuce.

While he was washing the dishes, I noticed that his sleeves were splashed by the water. “Ah, Yuu. Your blazer got wet. Why don’t you take it off?” I said as I pulled his blazer’s collar to help him take it off.

He immediately got away from me and looked so panic, “I’m fine like this! Today is a bit cold so I want to keep wearing the blazer.”

I frowned my eyebrows. Indeed outside is a bit chilly, but inside our dorm is warm though? I took his wrist and started to roll up his sleeves, “Okay okay, let me roll this up for you.”

While rolling up his sleeves, I noticed something about his body. His wrists and arms are so thin for a high school boy. "Yuu, are you eating properly?"

"Why are you asking that, senpai?" he asked back.

"It's just, your arms and wrists are so thin," I said as I gripped his wrist.

Before answering my question, he laughed a bit, “I’m still growing, senpai.”

“I see,” I let go of his hand and both of us continue finishing our tasks, I put back our dorm’s properties and he finished washing the dishes.

After both of us finished our tasks, I went to our kitchen’s refrigerator and took out a small box, “Do you want cheesecake, Yuu?”

Yuu, who looked like ready to go back, turned back to me, “You have one? Is it okay for me to accept it?”

“Of course. I actually prepared one for you,” I laughed a bit after seeing Yuu’s reaction, “You’re actually not very fond of sweets right?”

Yuu was surprised, “Wait, how did you know?”

“Your face. It didn’t seem you enjoyed my cakes as much as you enjoyed eating lunch in Cafeteria,” I said as I poured tea into a cup for him, “and yet, you never asked me to use my ‘Doodle Suit’ on your cake. I wonder why?”

“I know you put so much effort on baking cakes, Trey-senpai. And I don’t want your effort to go to waste by me asking you to change the taste,” Yuu said, “and in fact, your cakes are delicious. It’s a waste to not taste the original.”

My hand stopped moving. This was the first time I heard someone say that in this school. Most people thought I could bake cakes effortlessly since my family owns a cake shop. Even Cater, who dislikes sweets and has known me since we were freshmen, always asked me to use ‘Doodle Suit’.

What a strange guy.

“Um, is it not normal to not be fond of sweets?” somehow there was a scared tone when he asked that.

“Not really. You know that Cater dislikes sweets, right.”

Yuu looked flustered now, “A-ah, you’re right! Hm, hm. So it’s normal to not be fond of sweets.”

Looking at his reaction makes me confused, “Why are you asking that?”

“It’s just, when I was still in my original world, some people find it strange and uncommon for me to not like sweets.”

“Why would people find it strange? I thought it’s more common for a guy especially if they’re grown up to not be very fond of sweets, unlike girls,”

“I see,” now he was smiling, and that smile somehow showed that he felt relieved.

I accompanied him to eat the cake and drink tea. As we ate, we also talked about various things. Mostly are about his lessons, friends, Heartslabyul dorm, and everyone in our school.

During our talk, I noticed some things about him. His gestures and the way he talks are different compared to the students in our school. Even if I tried to compare to the Pomefiore students, I still felt the difference. It was like, his movements and voice are much smoother and softer.

Refusing to take off the blazer. Thin wrists. Considered as an uncommon for not to be fond of sweets. Strange gestures.

It was as if he’s— ah, no. It must be my imagination.

* * *

**Cutting Edge of Trend**

When I went to the Cafeteria with Riddle-kun and Trey-kun, I saw two boys with a heart and a spade mark on their face sitting across each other. I immediately recognized them as Heartslabyul students, and it took me a while to know who they were. They were Ace-chan and Deuce-chan. I couldn’t recognize them since they were usually with the other two, one boy and one cat-like monster. Thus, I suggested Riddle-kun and Trey-kun to sit with them.

“Ace-chan, Deuce-chan, mind if we sit with you?” I approached them and waved my hand.

“Oh, Cater-senpai! Of course, go ahead,” Ace-chan looked at us as he replied to me.

“Cater, we haven’t taken our meals yet. Ace, Deuce, please wait for us,” Riddle-kun said as he kept walking to the food counter.

“Yes, Dorm leader,” now it was Deuce-chan’s turn to answer.

After Riddle-kun, Trey-kun, and I took our meals, we went back to their table and had a sit. We talked about various things as we ate together. Ace-chan and Deuce-chan sometimes argue about the smallest thing but none of us can calm them down immediately.

“Calm down, you two. Are you two always like this everyday?” I tried to stop them from fighting any further.

“Not really. Usually it’s more like… Ah.” as he was answering Trey-kun, Ace-chan realized something, “Usually it’s even more noisy with Grim, and Yuu will intervene and stop us.”

“You’re right…” for the first time today, Deuce-chan agreed to Ace-chan.

“Now you’re talking about it, both Grim and Yuu aren’t with you. What happened?” Riddle-kun asked them.

“Yuu is sick. Because he can’t attend the classes, Grim didn’t attend as well. It seems like Grim is taking care of him too,” Ace-chan explained the situation of the Ramshackle duo.

“Yuu is sick? Is Grim properly taking care of him? Are you two going to visit him after school?” Riddle-kun gave a bunch of questions. Seriously, why did he sound like a father of Yuu-chan.

“I can make some food too for him,” Trey-kun added.

“No, we are not going to visit him,” Riddle-kun, Trey-kun, and I were surprised by Deuce-chan’s answer. We’ve always known how close those four were, so to think they weren’t going to visit him is almost impossible.

“Did you even realize what you were talking about?!” Riddle-kun sounded surprised, and somehow, angry.

“Ace-chan, Deuce-chan, are you serious?” how could they be so cold to their closest best friend?

“We’re serious. Since it’s always been like this,” Ace-chan answered us calmly.

“Always?” Trey-kun noticed something strange in Ace-chan's words.

“Yes, it’s not the first time he’s sick like this. I think he’s always sick once a month?” Deuce-chan talked while trying to remember about Yuu-chan, “Whenever he’s sick, he refused to meet anyone. The first time it happened, he already said we didn’t need to visit him. But we ignored what he said. When we arrived at Ramshackle dorm, the Ghosts were the ones who opened the door for us.”

“I remember that time. We insisted on checking Yuu and went to his room. Then when we knocked on his room, he said ‘I already said I didn’t want to see anyone, right? Go away!’” a sigh came out from Ace-chan’s mouth, “We were so surprised by his tone. It was really not like him. He sounded like in the worst mood ever. Ever since then we never paid any visit. Usually we just left some food and lesson notes on the door of Ramshackle dorm. Though it seemed like he always give the food to Grim and not touched that at all.”

Riddle-kun, Trey-kun, and I were trying to process what they told us. Indeed, Yuu-chan can be blunt and even sarcastic, but to act so rude especially to his friends was totally not him.

Hm? Somehow what Ace-chan and Deuce-chan told us about Yuu-chan sounded so familiar to me. I thought I experienced what they got from Yuu-chan.

“After a few days, he went back to class and looked so refreshed. At first we were hesitant to talk to him, but he needed to catch up with our study so we tried to act normal. Thus, that pattern always repeated every month,” Deuce-chan seemed like trying to calm Riddle-kun and Trey-kun who looked so confused.

“If that’s the case, I will make some food for him and you can deliver it to him, right?” after everything was explained, Trey-kun asked them again.

“So his body is that weak… It must be hard for him, moreover he knew nothing about education in this world,” Riddle-kun held his chin, “I will give him my notes so he can catch up with the lessons.”

“Eh? Can I get too, dorm leader?” Ace-chan asked with a big grin.

“Of course not. Use your own effort!” Riddle-kun replied with a very serious look on his face.

“Cater, you’re being silent for a while. Is everything okay?” with Trey-kun’s question, I stopped from wandering in my mind.

“Don’t worry, Cay-kun is okay~”

When the others continued their talk, I thought about Yuu-chan again.

Sick every once a month. Refusing to see other people. Foul mood. Loss of appetite.

That sounded like my sisters. No way….right?


	2. Tenacity

**Beast of Turning Around the Sorrow**

“So, what is a female doing in our _all-boys_ school?”

In front of me—no, below me—there was a girl. She was the prefect of Ramshackle dorm, the one who ruined this year’s welcoming ceremony. After she went to my room and that cat-like monster immediately fell asleep, I pushed her down on my bed to interrogate her. This was one of the ways to make your prey feel intimidated.

“What are you talking about, Kingscholar-senpai?” she asked me back with a smile. I see that she has no fear towards me, or just plain stupid.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You really reeks of a female. Maybe you managed to deceive the others, but your disguise is useless for us beastmen,” I stared into her eyes, “At least, Ruggie, Jack, and I already know about your real gender.”

The smile that looked plastered into her face slowly fading, changed into a more serious look. She started talking again but with a much softer and higher tone voice, “So what are you going to do after finding out about my gender? Revealing it to everyone? Kicked me out of this school?”

Her words startled me a bit. I knew she was pretty fearless that she had enough bravery to face that octopunk, but this was beyond my expectation, “Those aren’t bringing any benefit to me. Just tell me the reason why you’re here.”

She sighed a bit. Even though her eyes were in front of mine, it looked like she stared into the distant place, “I just want to go home. The Headmaster said he just can’t kick out and let a minor go into the street alone. Moreover, I came from another world. So I have to wait here until I can find the way to go home.”

After she explained everything, I let her go and took a distance from her. Still not changing her expression, she sat on the center of my bed. So she was here just pure of an accident, not because she’s a threat to this school or something like that.

“Let me warn you. This dorm is the nest of beastmen. You must be more careful around here. Ruggie, Jack, and I can tolerate you here, but we don’t know the others,” I said as I lay my back on the bed, “we can’t always protect you. Well, it’s not like we have any obligation to protect you.”

Actually, it wasn’t only this dorm, but the entire of Night Raven College. Wizards have high pride and tend to look down on people who can’t use magic. Moreover, NRC is a prestigious school of wizards. Her situation is really bad. Not only she can’t use magic, but she also came from another world. To make it worse, she’s actually a girl enrolling at an all-boys school.

“I never ask to be protected by you all,” she said calmly. I didn’t know if she was truly fearless or naive, maybe both.

“Whatever,” I looked at her again, “You can be relaxed here. I don’t know what kind of disguise you use, but you can take it all off.”

She showed a relieved expression, “Thank you, senpai.”

She took off her blazer. It seemed like she wore clothes that were two sizes bigger than her body. With her taking off her blazer, her body seemed even smaller than usual.

She’s really a girl, huh.

She got up and asked me, “I can take off all my disguise, right?

“Didn’t I tell you to?”

She walked towards the bathroom, “I will borrow your bathroom.”

After she went out of the bathroom, what I see is no longer a weak-looking boy in disguise. What was in front of me now is just an ordinary young girl. I didn’t know—or maybe I shouldn’t know—how she disguises herself. Just a few minutes ago her body looked very small without any specific feature. Now that she took off all her disguise, there were those soft lines on her waist and big bulges on her chest. She was holding a white cloth in her hand, probably she was using that to disguise her gender.

 _She’s really a girl,_ I repeated.

“I appreciate your effort to disguise your gender,” I said as I looked away from her, “Just to remind you tomorrow at our morning practice, make sure to use your disguise again.”

“I don’t know why you’re saying that, but thank you.” she went to the couch in my room to sleep with her partner, “Good night, senpai.”

“Night.”

* * *

**Outsider of the Flock**

After Yuu and Grim were kicked out of Ramshackle dorm, they followed me to Savanaclaw dorm. It was decided after some discussions with Ace and Deuce too. Now we were walking together towards the Hall of Mirrors where it connected to all dorms.

"Are you sure about this, Yuu?" I asked Yuu that after I made sure no one was around.

"What do you mean?" Yuu asked back.

"You're a girl, and Savanclaw, no, every dorm, are filled with boys," this is an all-boys school after all.

"Ho-how did you kno—" Grim was going to ask but Yuu covered his mouth since his voice was too loud.

Yuu stopped walking, "Since when?"

"Huh?"

"Since when did you know?" she asked again.

"Ever since the first time I met you, to be honest," I told her the truth, "From the first time I met you, it was very clear to me that you are a female from your smell. But seeing how hard your effort is to disguise your gender, I decided to keep silent. Maybe if this whole thing with Octavinelle didn't happen, I'd still not say anything."

I turned around to face her, "No matter how much you disguise yourself, you're still a girl and I don't think it's a good idea for you to go to a dorm filled with men."

Yuu smiled before replied to me, "Who do you think I am, Jack-kun? I've always gone to the classes and everywhere in this school, and I only see men around. I'm gonna be alright."

When she talked, I could feel that she really relaxed. Her voice sounded much softer and a bit higher than usual.

About what she said, she wasn't wrong, but this case was different. I sighed a bit, "Let's just hope there is a vacant room in Savanaclaw dorm."

"I hope so," she said, "I can't imagine if I have to be in someone's room and still wearing this disguise all night."

We kept walking towards the Hall of Mirrors. Before we arrived, I asked her, "Why did you give up your disguise immediately? I thought you would be more denial."

Yuu shook her head a bit, "I know you have a keen nose, Jack-kun. You've helped me a lot before as well. I will feel bad if I keep deceiving you."

Indeed Yuu can be blunt and sarcastic, but she's actually very kind. Knowing how strong her gut is, I didn't think she would want to be protected. That was why Leona-senpai asked me to keep my eyes on her in secret so no one could threaten her.

"By the way, you said you know about my gender from my smell, right?" she asked me, "Maybe I should use men's perfume? Do you have any recommendations, Jack?"

"Hm…"

"Or maybe I can use the same as yours? That way, our smell will be the same and other people won't recognize my smell!" she said cheerfully.

"W-what? You said in such a misleading way, Yuu!" did she even think when she said that? Us having the same smell will be even more dangerous even though the others didn't recognize her gender!

"Hahaha, I'm just joking! I can ask Sam-san the cheapest perfume in his shop~" she talked back to me teasingly. Just now she said she would feel bad to deceive me but look at her now teasing me like that.

I really thought I was going to have a heart attack.

After we arrived at Savanaclaw dorm, we found out that we can't use the vacant room. I was already nervous knowing about that. Does that mean she would sleep in my room? Probably yes, and that was the safest option now. Then Ruggie-senpai suggested her to sleep in Leona-senpai's room.

Of course, I panicked. But Ruggie-senpai gave me a sign that everything was going to be alright. Leona-senpai always treats women gently as it's like a culture in Afterglow Savanna. Of course, I trust Leona-senpai as well.

As I saw Yuu and Grim leave for Leona-senpai's room, I talked to Ruggie-senpai.

"I hope it's going to be alright…"

"Don't worry too much, Jack-kun. Yuu-kun knows that we know about her real gender, right?"

"Now that I think about it…" I tried to remember our conversation earlier, "I did say I know, but I didn't say that you and Leona-senpai know as well."

"Either way, Yuu-kun will be alright. Leona-san won't do anything strange to her," Ruggie-senpai paused for a while, "...probably."

"What do you mean by 'probably'?!"

* * *

**The Eater of Wilderness**

It was a morning after Yuu-kun got kicked out of her own dorm. Yes, I wasn't wrong. It was "she", not "he". I knew from a long time ago that the Prefect of Ramshackle dorm, Yuu, is actually a female. She may have deceived everyone, but her smell couldn't lie to me. Not only me but also Leona-san and Jack-kun. Now I was going to wake them up in Leona-san’s room.

“Leona-san, Yuu-kun, wake up!” I said after I entered the room.

I saw Leona-san start to wake up. Since it would take too much time to wake him up completely, I went to Yuu-kun who was currently sleeping on the couch, “Yuu-kun, it’s morning.”

As I pulled the blanket that wrapped her body, her body was shown in front of my eyes. She didn’t put her hair as half-up bun like usual, which emphasizes the femininity of her face. Certainly I already know about her real gender, but I never know about her real body figure. Before I went to NRC, I’ve already seen many girls her age, so I could say her body is more developed than common girls. There were two big round bulges on her chest. Her body lines are so refined. No wonder she always wore clothes that obviously were too big for her. Even if she binds her chest, her body figure would show if she wore the clothes that fitted on her body. It was amazing to realize how hard her effort to disguise her real gender.

Looking at her body for a few seconds was enough to make me gulp

“Oi, Ruggie. How long do you intend to ogle her?”

So Leona-san has woken up. I turned around to face him who was already sitting on his bed, “What do you mean ogle?! I didn’t do such a thing!”

“But your eyes didn’t say so, Ruggie. You were looking at her with such a weird stare,” Grim-kun, who was sleeping beside Yuu-kun also has woken up.

I turned around again, now to face Grim-kun, “Wait, you’ve woke up, Grim-kun? Since when?”

“Since you pulled our blanket,” Grim-kun said.

“Heh. You were too busy ogling on that Herbivore that you didn’t realize the cat has woken up,” Leona-san said as he grinned widely.

“I’m not a cat!” Grim-kun yelled. Then he shook Yuu’s body, “Yuu, wake up. It’s already morning.”

“Hn…” she slowly opened her eyes. While still rubbing her eyes, she positioned herself to sit on the couch, “Good morning…”

“Herbivore, don’t forget what I said last night,” Leona-san said as he got up from the bed, “The morning practice will start soon.”

“Okay,” Yuu-kun answered Leona-san and grabbed the white cloth beside the couch. Probably she used that to bind her chest.

After Yuu-kun has gone to the bathroom, Leona-san dressed himself up for the morning practice, “Ruggie.”

“Yes?”

“No one other than three of us realized her real gender, right?”

Before answering Leona-san’s question, I tried to remember. I didn’t think she has been in close contact with anyone in Savanaclaw besides Leona-san, Jack-kun, and me, “I’m not sure. Probably no one knows other than us.”

“That female Herbivore. She isn’t weak, but pretty naive— no, it’s more like she underestimates her own condition in this school. Maybe no one has ever said that they found out her gender, but actually some already did. Everyone in this school isn’t that nice, moreover she is completely a foreign being in this school,” he faced me, “You know what Jack and you should do, right?”

Of course, I understood what Leona-san meant. I was sure he said something like “We have no obligation to protect you” to Yuu-kun, but it was obvious that he was worried about her. In Afterglow Savannah, women are strong and highly respected, so Leona-san was pretty much weak to them.

But Yuu-kun is different.

She came from another world, can’t use magic, has nothing, and should attend all-boys school for wizards. To put it simply, she was supposed to not be here, she doesn’t belong here, however she has no other choices. Just like Leona-san said, she isn’t weak. But this is a cruel world for her. She is already at disadvantage from the start.

What Leona-san meant is, he asked Jack-kun and me to protect her quietly. Seeing how she behaved for these past months, I’m sure she would decline our protection and say she would be fine by herself. Again, just like Leona-san said, she underestimates her own conditions in this school. She wasn’t aware of how high the dangers she might encounter anytime.

So I answered Leona-san’s question, “Yes, I will tell Jack-kun later.”


	3. Compassion

**The Intellectual of Greed**

“Then, I will make a deal.”

What a fool. Not possessing any magic, nor he has a beautiful voice and not even an heir of any country. He was just an ordinary person. No, he was actually less than ordinary. Yet, he dared to sign a contract with me. I don’t know if he was naive or just simply stupid. Even before this game started, I knew I already won.

Or so I thought.

He got help from that freshman wolf from Savanaclaw, Jack-san. Jack-san was surprisingly smart. It was out of my expectation since it did seem Savanaclaw was full of men with brawn instead of brain, except for the top two persons, Leona-san and Ruggie-san. Leona-san was exceptional, much expected from the second prince of Afterglow Savanna. Ruggie-san, rather than smart, more like he was a cunning person. Jack-san may be smart but he wouldn’t let his own hands dirty, so he was nothing compared to his seniors.

Each day until the final day of the contract, Jade and Floyd kept bothering them from getting the photo I asked them to get. According to them, the first two days were rather normal and certainly, they were still naive and stupid. Though, both of them found something strange about him, the Prefect of Ramshackle dorm, Yuu-san. They said his smell was different compared to other people around him. When we were on the land, they could only smell a faint of it. Once they went into the water, they could smell it clearly.

“Perhaps a human from another world has a different smell?” Floyd said.

“Really? But according to my observation, he has no significant difference from other students, besides him not possessing any magic and having a small body compared to common students here,” Jade said as he read his own observation note on the Prefect.

“You two, if you have time to do something such a thing which will not bring any merit to us, it’s better to go back to Mostro Lounge and take care of those anemones,” I said.

Jade and Floyd looked at each other before they replied to me, “Okay.”

From the beginning, I never paid any attention to him. He may be a special student since he can get into this school despite not possessing any magic and got his own dorm. But exactly because of that, he was nothing special. It could be said that he was even less compared to the students who were doing badly in this school. So, such information has no issue with me.

Turns out, I underestimated him too much. The more you look at him, the more everything becomes strange. How could everything turn out like this just because of him?

Leona-san and Ruggie-san along with the other Savanaclaw students joined hands to help the Prefect. They made Mostro Lounge unusually busy on the final day of the contract and took all my contracts from the VIP room. If all Savanaclaw students helped the Prefect, it only meant Leona-san did a favor for the Prefect and asked the other Savanaclaw students to help. Why? Why would _that_ Leona-san do so much for him, the plainest person in this school? No, rather than do a favor, it felt like those three from Savanaclaw were protecting him?

Then I remember the report from Jade. Even though the Prefect with his friends were doing badly during the first two days, it seemed like they improved their strategy. As if the Prefect got help from his back. Does that mean Leona-san and Ruggie-san helped him from the shadow before they went all out on the final day? Why would they go to that extent just to help him? Even though they said it was because the Prefect threatened Leona-san, I didn’t think that was the only case. As if he had another reason to help him.

I was sure it wasn’t because the Prefect was a horrific person. When we went to the Atlantica Memorial Museum, it was shown that he was just a naive and fearless person. He even praised me for my hard work. Although he almost lost his only one home in this world, yet he still gave me a compliment. He was far from horrific.

Maybe, he was no ordinary after all. After everything that happened, maybe it would bring some benefit for me to watch over him. Gathering information of one person, moreover he came from another world which he has no administration record here, won’t be hurt.

* * *

**Temptation of Attacker Fish**

“Jade, I have a request.”

It’s been a few days since Azul requested me to gather more information about the Prefect of Ramshackle dorm, Yuu-san. It was surprising since he said that he didn’t need to know anything about the Prefect. So I made sure of him if he really wants to know more about the Prefect.

That was a simple task for me since I’ve actually done it from the day he enrolled here. I’ve observed him because I found him interesting. A person from another world who doesn’t possess any magic came to our school and became a student? How could that not be interesting? Though, I stopped observing him for a while as I couldn’t find much about him. Because he came from another world, there wasn’t any administration record nor data about him at all. And all I could find about him is only, he was just no more than an ordinary human.

When I got closer to him at the Cafeteria, before he made a deal with Azul, I finally noticed something strange about him. It was faint, but I was sure that he has a different smell from the other students here. I was more convinced when I met him at the sea for the first time. Both Floyd and I could sense his smell much clearer than when we were on the land, and as we thought, his smell was distinctly different. We felt we encountered that kind of smell before. Most likely, it was during Halloween week on our first-year, which so many guests come to NRC from outside of Island of Sage. Too bad we couldn’t remember what kind of smell was that.

“Hey Jade, you’re told by Azul to collect information about Koebi-chan, right?”

When it was almost time we went to the bed, Floyd brought up a topic about him. Now, speak of the devil.

“Yes. What’s the matter, Floyd?” I asked him back.

“Today, I saw Koebi-chan seemed unwell. When I got closer to him, I could smell blood from him. The smell was so thick that I could smell it even though I wasn’t in the water. But I didn’t see any injury on his body. He seemed in so much pain and sweated a lot. Maybe he was fighting someone and that wasn’t his blood?”

“How funny, Floyd. I don’t think he’s capable of fighting with his fists,” that was right. His body is too small to fight and he wouldn’t be able to fight with magic against students here.

But for Floyd to be able to smell clearly on the land, that must be a lot of blood. How could he have a lot of blood on his body without getting injured?

Floyd started to speak again, “I was with Kobanzame-chan when I smelled the blood. Kobanzame-chan told me to not tell anyone about Koebi-chan’s condition.”

“Fufu. But you just told me, Floyd,” I giggled a little.

“I think Jade is okay to know. It doesn’t seem anything big after all~,” Floyd paused for a while, “But Kobanzame-chan acted so strangely too. He brought Koebi-chan to the infirmary. Somehow~ the way Kobanzame-chan treated Koebi-chan earlier was so gentle that it wasn’t like the usual Kobanzame-chan. Kobanzame-chan even carried Koebi-chan with—what is it they called, ‘princess carry’?”

Sure, most Savanaclaw’s students are rough men, including Ruggie-san. Just to imagine them being gentle towards another man is impossible. Is Yuu-san really that special for them? To be precise, Leona-san, Ruggie-san, and Jack-kun. As I observed Yuu-san, I noticed that those three always treat Yuu-san differently. Though, Leona-san tried to hide how he treats Yuu-san differently, what a dishonest person. Meanwhile, the rest of Savanaclaw still treats Yuu-san the same. That was shown so obviously during the Azul overblot incident.

Somehow, the information about Yuu-san was getting more and more tangled for me. Why? It was an ordinary high school boy who came from another world and doesn’t possess any magic, but why was he like an unsolved puzzle? I just need this one piece of the puzzle to connect all the pieces together.

“Jade?” Floyd pulled me back from my daydreaming, “You seem to really enjoy this.”

“Of course, Floyd. Yuu-san is indeed an interesting person after all.”

Yuu-san, let me see more of you. I wonder how far you will amuse me with this puzzle of yours.

* * *

**Binding of Provoked Fish**

“Hm, Koebi-chan?”

I saw that small boy walking across the courtyard from the second floor. It was unusual to see him alone, not with the other three. Is it just my imagination or the way he walked seemed staggered? Let’s just call him now.

“Koebi-chan~” I called him and waved my hand as hard as possible.

He looked around to find me. Then when he finally found where I was, he waved back weakly.

...Huh? Did he just wave back at me normally? That’s rare! Usually, whenever Jade or I greeted him, he would jolt a bit and make an uncomfortable face. But today he wasn’t like that at all. I’m happy! This means I can play more with him!

He was always interesting to me. Being someone who came from another world and not possesses any magic, he enrolled here as a student. Moreover, with that small body, he always seemed struggling to match the other’s pace, like a small fish who is trying to run away from a predator. Well, he’s a shrimp though.

After being greeted back by him, I feel like today would be a good day~.

…

Finally, it's lunch break. Before I went to the cafeteria, I found Kobanzame-chan. Maybe I could play a little parkour with him before getting lunch.

“Kobanzame-chan~ let’s play~!” I said as I followed him from behind.

“Go play by yourself, Floyd-kun! I got errands to do for Leona-san,” he said as he tried to run from me.

“Eeeh, so boring! Ah, let me squeeze you for a bit~,”

“Don’t squeeze me! Gah, let me go!” suddenly he stopped struggling, “ain’t that Yuu-kun?”

“Aha, you’re right. Koebi-chan~” I let Kobanzame-chan go and waved at Koebi-chan.

Hm? His face didn’t seem good. The way he walked was even worse than this morning. He even supported his body to walk by reaching out his hand to the wall.

Then, just when I was going to run to him, he suddenly collapsed and fell to the wall. Seeing that, both Kobanzame-chan and I ran to him.

“Yuu-kun, are you al—” Kobanzame-chan stopped when his distance with Koebi-chan was so close.

“Koebi-chan, are you okay?” I got closer to him, then I noticed there was something strange about him. It smelled like a lot of blood. The amount of blood I could smell wasn't normal. My sense of smell when I'm on the land isn't as strong as when I'm on the water, yet I could smell it. So I asked, “Koebi-chan, are you injured somewhere? There is so much smell of blood coming from you.”

Just when I touched his sweating face, he brushed my hand and cried with a weak voice, “Don’t touch me, it’s cold!”

Huh, what was that? Didn’t he greet me normally instead of making an uncomfortable face this morning? I thought finally he can act normally around me—and Jade—now. Why did he become more hostile to me than ever now?

What did I do wrong?

Suddenly, Kobanzame-chan lifted up Koebi-chan with his arms. One arm carrying the knees, and the other one wrapped around the shoulders. I think it was called 'princess carry' by people of the land. He said, "You can hang on my neck, Yuu-kun."

Koebi-chan took the offer and wrapped his arms at Kobanzame-chan's neck and snuggled a bit. His face also seemed much better and showed he felt comfortable now. It was faint but I could hear him say, "It's warm…"

What was that? I don't like it.

Before they left, Kobanzame-chan talked to me, "Floyd-kun, tell Ace-kun and Deuce-kun that Yuu-kun ain't go back to the class since I'm takin' him to the infirmary," then he added, "Don't tell about this to anyone, including them."

"Wait, Kobanzame-chan. Didn't you say you have errands to do? Let me take care of Koebi-chan in your place then," I said as I grabbed Kobanzame-chan's shoulder.

"Leona-san will understand. And Yuu-kun's condition ain't something you can take care of. also…" I could see Koebi-chan snuggled to him more.

And so, they left to go to the infirmary.

I felt irritated.

I didn't understand what just happened. So Koebi-chan was sick and Kobanzame-chan was taking care of him but I can't? Kobanzame-chan seemed awfully calm even though the smell of blood from Koebi-chan's body was so thick. I was sure he could smell it too.

Ah… I didn't feel like doing anything because of Koebi-chan. Just when I thought I could play with him more.

Guess I would skip the rest of classes today.


End file.
